Monday, October 15, 2007

The news that Greg Monroe committed to Georgetown over the weekend will sting a bit at Duke.

Scout.com ranks Monroe as the No. 1 player in the current high school senior class. A 6-foot-10 forward with good ball-handling and passing skills, he could have provided the strong post presence Duke appears to be lacking.

The Blue Devils also recently missed on 6-8 McDonald’s All-American Patrick Patterson, who’s now a freshman at Kentucky. They have a commitment from 6-7 banger Olek Czyz of Reno, Nev., but he’s far from a polished scorer.

If there are other quality, uncommitted post players in the current senior class, they’re not immediately obvious. That leaves sophomore Brian Zoubek, a 7-foot-1 project coming off surgery for a broken foot, as the team’s top scoring threat at center for the foreseeable future.It makes the decision of 6-4 guard Elliot Williams of Collierville, Tenn., even more critical for Duke to avoid having this recruiting class become a bust.

The current strong freshman class consisting of McDonald’s All-Americans Kyle Singler, Nolan Smith and Taylor King means it’s hardly time for Duke to panic. The fact that North Carolina signed nobody in the Class of 2007 and still might be No. 1 in the preseason also provides perspective.

But losing out on two highly coveted big guys in a row – Patterson and now Monroe – won’t be easy for a Duke program that isn’t used to losing in recruiting.

3
comments:

Anonymous
said...

What college did you attend? What about the playere the Heels are not getting?1.Delvon Roe,6'7" 230 from Jawad Williams high school, who chose Michigan State, after saying all year he was probabaly going to be a Heel.2.Iman Shumpert, the 6'4" guard, who chose Georgia Tech over the Heels.3.Samardo Samuels, 6'9" 260, who chose Louisville after being reportedly favoring the Heels.4.Al-Farouq Aminu, 6'8" 210, who chose Wake Forest over the Hill.Could it be that you love the Heels? I bet so. Keep on bashing fellow. It's a free country, but are you not supposed to be impartial? Or are you?

To the sensitive reader who missed the entire point - the article dealt with Duke missing out on "inside" help, which effects them this season (no Patterson) and next (no Monroe), leaving them with the cement-footed Zoubek to scare teams in the post. In case you haven't noticed, the Heels have Tyler Hansbrough (he's an All-American in case you missed that, too) and sophomore Deon Thompson for this year. For next, Hansbrough - while doubtful - may even come back for his senior season, but Thompson will be back and maybe Alex Stepheson could help by then. Missing out on recruits effects every team somehow, but not having an inside force hurts teams immeasurably. While Duke is very talented in other areas (the article alludes to this) and will be a load for anyone they play (great coach, great players) their team is a doughnut for the next couple of years - no middle. At Duke, and with their history of big guys (Ferry, Laettner, Brand, Williams), that's news.

And also, unlike the dookies, the Heels did in fact sign a national top 10 recruit - Ed Davis - who just so happens to be a man who will fill in the middle for Carolina after Hansbrough and Thompson have departed. The Heels also managed to sign another point guard (Larry Drew) for 2008 - another area where *dook has fallen short - and also has one of the top guards in the class of 2010 (Kendall Marshall) committed already.

About this blog

David Scott has been with the Observer for 28 years and has written about ACC, SEC and other college sports in the Charlotte region. He covers Wake Forest, South Carolina and college soccer for the Observer and (Raleigh) News & Observer.

J.P. Giglio covers the ACC for the News & Observer, where he has worked since 1997, and the Observer.

Andrew Carter covers the North Carolina Tar Heels for the Observer and News & Observer.

Laura Keeley covers the Duke Blue Devils for the Observer and News & Observer. Follow her on Twitter.

Chip Alexander covers the Carolina Hurricanes and college football for the News & Observer, where he has worked since 1979, and the Observer.

Luke DeCock has worked for The News & Observer since 2000. He covered the Carolina Hurricanes and the NHL before becoming a sports columnist for the Observer and News & Observer in August 2008.

Tim Crothers is an author and former senior writer at Sports Illustrated who is joining the sports staff to write a regular column during the rest of the college basketball season.